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95-513: Before leaving Ogygia , Odysseus builds a raft and sails eastwards, instructed by Calypso to navigate using the stars as a celestial reference point. On the eighteenth day appear the shadowy mountains of the land of the Phaeacians, that looked like a shield in the misty deep. Poseidon spots his raft and seeking vengeance for his son Polyphemus who was blinded by Odysseus, produces a storm that torments Odysseus. After three days of struggle with

190-782: A fiefdom , called the Feudum Acinganorum was established, with mainly Romani serfs . From 1386, Corfu was controlled by the Republic of Venice , which in 1401 acquired formal sovereignty and retained it until the French Occupation of 1797. Corfu became central for the propagation of the activities of the Filiki Etaireia among the Greek Diaspora and philhellenic societies across Europe, through nobles like Ioannis Kapodistrias and Dionysios Romas . From medieval times and into

285-786: A Chronological account of Irish Events (collected from Very Ancient Documents faithfully compared with each other & supported by the Genealogical & Chronological Aid of the Sacred and Profane Writings of the Globe”. Ogygia Island in Antarctica is named after the mythical island. Corfu Corfu ( / k ɔːr ˈ f ( j ) uː / kor- FEW , -⁠ FOO , US also / ˈ k ɔːr f ( j ) uː / KOR -few, -⁠foo ) or Kerkyra ( Greek : Κέρκυρα , romanized :  Kérkyra , pronounced [ˈcercira] )

380-573: A base against Mark Antony . Christianity arrived in Corfu early; two disciples of Saint Paul , Jason of Tarsus and Sosipatrus of Patras, taught the Gospel, and according to tradition the city of Corfu and much of the island converted to Christianity. Their relics were housed in the old cathedral (at the site of the current Old Fortress, before a dedicated church was built for them c.  100 AD . During Late Antiquity (late Roman/early Byzantine period),

475-583: A dowry in 1259. At his death in 1267 it passed to the House of Anjou . Thus, Corfu became a part of the Angevin Kingdom of Albania that was established and ruled by Frankish Charles of Anjou of the royal  Capetian dynasty . Under the latter, the island suffered considerably from the inroads of various adventurers. The island was one of the first places in Europe in which Romani people settled. In about 1360,

570-452: A stranger before. Nausicaa, being hospitable, provides clothes, food and drink to Odysseus, and then directs him to the palace of King Alcinous. Following Nausicaa 's instructions, Odysseus sought to enter the palace of King Alcinous and plead for mercy from the queen, Arete , so he could make his way home. On his way to the palace, Odysseus meets Athena disguised as a local girl. In her disguised state, Athena advises him about how to enter

665-405: A stranger walking into their secured palace. It is only after Echeneus, a Phaeacian elder, urges King Alcinous to welcome the stranger that they offer Odysseus hospitality. The front doors of the palace are flanked with two dogs made of silver and gold, constructed by Hephaestus . The walls of the palace are made of bronze that "shines like the sun", with gates made of gold. Within the walls, there

760-608: A ten-month siege for Manuel I Komnenos to recover the island in 1149. In the third invasion in 1185, the island was again captured by William II of Sicily , but was soon regained by Isaac II Angelos . During the break-up of the Byzantine Empire the island was occupied by Genoese privateers (1197–1207), who in turn were expelled by the Venetians. In 1214 it passed to the Greek despots of Epirus , who gave it to Manfred of Sicily as

855-578: Is Mount Pantokrator (906 m (2,972 ft)); and the second Stravoskiadi, at 849 m (2,785 ft). The full extent of capes and promontories take in Agia Aikaterini, Drastis to the north, Lefkimmi and Asprokavos to the southeast, and Megachoro to the south. Two islands are also to be found at a middle point of Gouvia and Corfu Bay, which extends across much of the eastern shore of the island; are known as Lazareto and Ptychia (or Vido). The Diapontia Islands (Greek: Διαπόντια νησιά) are located in

950-507: Is 42.8 °C (109.0 °F) on 24 July 2007 while the lowest is −6.0 °C (21.2 °F) on 17 January 2012. Hellenic National Meteorological Service Homer identifies six plants that adorn the garden of Alcinous : wild olive, pear, pomegranate , apple, fig and grape vine . Of these the apple and the pear are very inferior in Corfu; the others thrive, together with all the fruit trees known in Southern Europe , with addition of

1045-571: Is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea , of the Ionian Islands , and, including its small satellite islands , forms the margin of the nation's northwestern frontier with Albania . The island is part of the Corfu regional unit , and is administered by three municipalities with the islands of Othonoi , Ereikoussa , and Mathraki . The principal city of the island (pop. 32,095) is also named Corfu . Corfu

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1140-422: Is a continental island ; its fauna is similar to that of the opposite mainland. Avifauna is extensive, with around 300 bird species recorded since the 19th century. Species vary in size from the greater flamingo to the goldcrest . Some species have become extinct, such as the rock partridge and the grey partridge , or no longer breed on the island, like the eastern imperial eagle , the white-tailed eagle ,

1235-476: Is a magnificent garden with apple, pear, and pomegranate trees that grow year-round. The palace is even equipped with a lighting system consisting of golden statues of young men bearing torches. After Odysseus tells Alcinous and his court the story of his adventures after the Trojan War , the Phaeacians take him to Ithaca on one of their ships. The Phaeacians possessed remarkable ships. They were quite different from

1330-562: Is a tourist attraction today. These defeats in the east and the west of the island proved decisive, and the Ottomans abandoned their siege and departed. Two years later they repeated their attempt. Coming from Africa after a victorious campaign, they landed in Corfu and wreaked havoc on rural areas. Following a counterattack by the Venetian-Corfiot forces, the Ottoman troops were forced to leave

1425-423: Is awakened by the shouts. He covers his nakedness with thick leaves and goes to ask for help from the group. Upon seeing the unkempt Odysseus in this state, the maids run away, but, Nausicaa, encouraged by Athena, stands her ground and talks to him. To excuse the maids, she admits that the Phaeacians are "the farthermost of men, and no other mortals are conversant with them", so they run away since they have never seen

1520-742: Is called by misinterpretation of the Greek designation Άγιοι Δέκα (Hagioi Deka), or the Ten Saints. The whole island, composed as it is of various limestone formations, presents great diversity of surface. Beaches are found in Agios Gordis, the Korission Lagoon , Agios Georgios, Marathia, Kassiopi, Sidari, Palaiokastritsa and many others. Corfu is located near the Kefalonia geological fault formation; earthquakes have occurred. Corfu's coastline spans 217 km (135 mi) including capes; its highest point

1615-587: Is home to the Ionian University . The island is bound up with the history of Greece from the beginnings of Greek mythology , and is marked by numerous battles and conquests. Ancient Korkyra took part in the Battle of Sybota which was a catalyst for the Peloponnesian War , and, according to Thucydides, the largest naval battle between Greek city states until that time. Thucydides also reports that Korkyra

1710-774: Is the Mycenaean Greek word ko-ro-ku-ra-i-jo ( "man from Kerkyra") written in Linear B syllabic script, c. 1300 BC. According to Strabo , Corcyra (Κόρκυρα) was the Homeric island of Scheria (Σχερία), and its earliest inhabitants were the Phaeacians (Φαίακες). The island has indeed been identified by some scholars with Scheria , the island of the Phaeacians described in Homer 's Odyssey , though conclusive and irrefutable evidence for this theory has not been found. Apollonius of Rhodes depicts

1805-600: Is the only city in Greece to be surrounded in such a way. As a result, Corfu's capital has been officially declared a Kastropolis ("castle city") by the Greek government. From medieval times and into the 17th century, the island, as part of the Republic of Venice since 1204, successfully repulsed the Ottomans during several sieges, was recognised as a bulwark of the European States against the Ottoman Empire and became one of

1900-522: Is the origin of the Ionian Academy , the first university of the modern Greek state, and the Nobile Teatro di San Giacomo di Corfù , the first Greek theatre and opera house of modern Greece. The first governor of independent Greece after the revolution of 1821, founder of the modern Greek state, and distinguished European diplomat Ioannis Kapodistrias was born in Corfu. In 2007, the city's old town

1995-672: The Balkan whip snake , the Caspian whip snake , the four-lined snake , the Aesculapian snake , the leopard snake , the grass snake , the dice snake , the European cat snake , the eastern Montpellier snake . There are 75 (plus) known species of Corfiot butterfly. Of particular interest are the southern swallowtail , southern festoon , Oberthür's grizzled skipper , Lulworth skipper , eastern orange tip , Krueper's small white , eastern baton blue and

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2090-552: The Bonelli's eagle , the griffon vulture and the Egyptian vulture . Around 40 species of mammals live on the island and in the sea around it. Fin whales , sperm whales , Cuvier's beaked whales , common bottlenose dolphins , short-beaked common dolphins , striped dolphins and Risso's dolphins are the regularly present cetaceans. Monk seals appear from time to time without breeding there anymore. Eurasian otters still survive in

2185-517: The Dalmatian algyroides , the common wall lizard , the Balkan wall lizard , the Balkan green lizard , the European green lizard and the snake-eyed skink as also the legless Greek slow worm and the European glass lizard . Of the snakes of Corfu, only the nose-horned viper is potentially dangerous. The harmless snake list includes the European worm snake , the javelin sand boa , the Dahl's whip snake ,

2280-566: The North American coast. Ogygia is associated with the Ogygian deluge and with the mythological figure Ogyges , in the sense that the word Ogygian means " primeval ", " primal ", and "at earliest dawn", which would suggest that Homer's Ogygia was a primeval island. However, Ogyges as a primeval, aboriginal ruler was usually sited in Boeotia , where he founded Thebes there, naming it Ogygia at

2375-605: The Odyssey did not know Odysseus (although they knew of him, as evidenced by the tales of Demodocus ), so they called him a "stranger". Odysseus however was the king of the majority of the Ionian Islands , not only of Ithaca , but also "of Cephallenia , Neritum , Crocylea , Aegilips , Same and Zacynthus " so if Scheria was Corfu, it would be surprising that the citizens of one of the Ionian Islands did not know Odysseus. Furthermore, when Odysseus reveals his identity, he says to

2470-555: The Ottoman tide. Today, however, this role is often relatively unknown or ignored, but was celebrated in Juditha triumphans by the Venetian composer Antonio Vivaldi . Corfu's urban architecture differs from that of other major Greek cities, because of Corfu's unique history. From 1386 to 1797, Corfu was ruled by Venetian nobility; much of the city reflects this era when the island belonged to

2565-499: The Republic of Venice , with multi-storeyed buildings on narrow lanes. The Old Town of Corfu has clear Venetian influence and is amongst the World Heritage Sites in Greece . It was in the Venetian period that the city saw the erection of the first opera house ( Nobile Teatro di San Giacomo di Corfù ) in Greece. Many Venetian-speaking families settled in Corfu during these centuries; they were called Corfiot Italians , and until

2660-403: The kumquat , loquat and prickly pear and, in some spots, the banana. Olive trees dominate and their combination with cypress trees compose the typical Corfiot landscape. When undisturbed by cultivation, the high maquis is the major natural vegetation type followed by deciduous oak forests and to a lesser extent, pine forests. In total more than 1800 plant species have been recorded. Corfu

2755-576: The penteconters , the ships used during the Trojan War, and they were steered by thought. King Alcinous says that Phaeacians carried Rhadamanthus to Euboea , "which is the furthest of any place" and came back on the same day. He also explains to Odysseus what sort of information the Phaeacian ships require in order to take him home to Ithaca. Tell me also your country, nation, and city, that our ships may shape their purpose accordingly and take you there. For

2850-443: The tree grayling , many of which are of near threatened status . Before the turn of the century, not much had been published about the butterfly fauna of Corfu, and there were only a few short and obscure scientific articles. Recent interest grew when a Facebook discussion page (now called Corfu Butterfly Conservation) was created on 27th April 2014. Since that time, a group of responsible butterfly enthusiasts has grown (731 members at

2945-467: The "Door of Venice" during the centuries when the whole Adriatic was the Gulf of Venice , remained in Venetian hands from 1401 until 1797, though several times assailed by Ottoman naval and land forces and subjected to four notable sieges in 1537 , 1571, 1573 and 1716 , in which the strength of the city defences asserted itself time after time. The effectiveness of the powerful Venetian fortifications as well as

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3040-518: The 17th century, the island was recognised as a bulwark of the European States against the Ottoman Empire and became one of the most fortified places in Europe. The fortifications of the island were used by the Venetians to defend against Ottoman intrusion into the Adriatic . Corfu repulsed several Ottoman sieges, before passing under British rule following the Napoleonic Wars . Kerkyra,

3135-671: The Atlantic Ocean. Ogygia Ogygia ( / oʊ ˈ dʒ ɪ dʒ i ə / ; Ancient Greek : Ὠγυγίη , romanized :  Ōgygíē [ɔːɡyɡíɛː] , or Ὠγυγία Ōgygíā [ɔːɡyɡíaː] ) is an island mentioned in Homer 's Odyssey , Book V, as the home of the nymph Calypso , the daughter of the Titan Atlas . In Homer's Odyssey , Calypso detained Odysseus on Ogygia for seven years and kept him from returning to his home of Ithaca , wanting to marry him. Athena complained about Calypso's actions to Zeus , who sent

3230-496: The Ottoman fleet off the Corfu Channel and defeated it in the ensuing naval battle. On 19 July, after taking a few outlying forts, the Ottoman army reached the hills around the city of Corfu and laid siege to it. Despite repeated assaults and heavy fighting, the Ottomans were unable to breach the defences and were forced to raise the siege after 22 days. The 5,000 Venetians and foreign mercenaries, together with 3,000 Corfiotes, under

3325-509: The Phaeacian ships as fast as a falcon and gives a vivid description of the ship's departure. The ship bounded forward on her way as a four in hand chariot flies over the course when the horses feel the whip. Her prow curvetted as it were the neck of a stallion, and a great wave of dark blue water seethed in her wake. She held steadily on her course, and even a falcon, swiftest of all birds, could not have kept pace with her. Many ancient and modern interpreters favor identification of Scheria with

3420-404: The Phaeacians have no pilots; their vessels have no rudders as those of other nations have, but the ships themselves understand what it is that we are thinking about and want; they know all the cities and countries in the whole world, and can traverse the sea just as well even when it is covered with mist and cloud, so that there is no danger of being wrecked or coming to any harm. Homer describes

3515-558: The Turks left the island unsuccessfully because of poor logistics and an epidemic that decimated their ranks. Thirty-four years later, in August 1571, Ottoman forces returned for yet another attempt to conquer the island. Having seized Parga and Mourtos from the Greek mainland side, they attacked the Paxi islands. Subsequently they landed on Corfu's southeast shore and established a large beachhead all

3610-624: The Venetian centuries and spoke their own language ( Italkian ), a mixture of Hebrew-Italian in a Venetian or Apulian dialect with some Greek words. Venetians promoted the Catholic Church during their four centuries of rule in Corfu. Today the majority of Corfiots are Greek Orthodox , but the small Catholic minority (5%), living harmoniously with the Orthodox community, owes its faith to these origins. These contemporary Catholics are mostly families who came from Malta , but also from Italy , and today

3705-447: The beautiful nymph Korkyra, daughter of Asopos and river nymph Metope , and abducted her. Poseidon brought Korkyra to the hitherto unnamed island and, in marital bliss, offered her name to the place: Korkyra , which gradually evolved to Kerkyra ( Doric ). They had a child, Phaiax, after whom the inhabitants of the island were named Phaiakes (in Latin , Phaeaciani ). Corfu is known as

3800-577: The benefit of Corfu's butterflies and the wider natural environment, as well as to stimulate public interest in butterfly conservation. CBC launched its website (www.corfubutterflyconservation.org, funded by the Royal Entomological Society 's Goodman Award) on the 1 January 2021 to coincide with the launch of the Corfu Butterfly Survey. The website describes the 75 species of butterflies that have been confirmed by members of CBC from

3895-504: The city sailing away. The second great siege of Corfu took place in 1716, during the last Ottoman–Venetian War (1714–18) . After the conquest of the Peloponnese in 1715, the Ottoman fleet appeared in Buthrotum opposite Corfu. On 8 July the Ottoman fleet, carrying 33,000 men, sailed to Corfu from Buthrotum and established a beachhead at Ipsos. The same day, the Venetian fleet encountered

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3990-570: The city, led by its archbishop, Arsenios, withstood a Saracen attack; Arsenios was canonized and became the city's patron saint . The peace and prosperity of the Macedonian era ended with another Saracen attack in 1033, but more importantly with the emergence of a new threat: following the Norman conquest of Southern Italy , the ambitious Norman monarchs set their sights on expansion in the East. Three times on

4085-513: The conquest of Corcyra by the Corinthian tyrant Periander (Περίανδρος) who induced his new subjects to join in the colonization of Apollonia and Anactorium . The island soon regained its independence and thenceforth devoted itself to a purely mercantile policy. During the Persian invasion of 480 BCE it manned the second largest Greek fleet (60 ships), but took no active part in the war. In 435 BCE it

4180-648: The coypu and the raccoon have established viable populations. Eight species of amphibians and 31 species of reptiles live or have been recorded on and around Corfu. The Greek newt , the Macedonian crested newt , the common toad , the European green toad , the European tree frog , the agile frog , the Epirus water frog and the Greek marsh frog are the representatives of the Amphibia Class. Loggerhead sea turtles nest on

4275-441: The current Old Fortress, where the rocky hills offered natural protection against raids. From the twin peaks of the new site, the medieval city received its new name, Korypho (Κορυφώ, "city on the peak") or Korphoi (Κορφοί, "peaks"), whence the modern Western name of "Corfu". The previous site of the city, now known as Palaiopolis (Παλαιόπολις, "old city"), continued to be inhabited for several centuries, however. From at least

4370-482: The death of Alexander , last King of Epirus. In 229 BCE, following the naval battle of Paxos , it was captured by the Illyrians , but was speedily delivered by a Roman fleet and remained a Roman naval station until at least 189 BCE. At this time, it was governed by a prefect (presumably nominated by the consuls), but in 148 BCE it was attached to the province of Macedonia . In 31 BCE, it served Octavian (Augustus) as

4465-501: The early 16th century, a monastery was built on the islet and a leprosarium established later in the century, after which the island was named. In 1798, during the French occupation, the islet was occupied by the Russo -Turkish fleet, who ran it as a military hospital. During the period of British rule , in 1814, the leprosarium was once again opened after renovations, and following Enosis in 1864

4560-457: The early 9th century, Corfu and the other Ionian Islands formed part of the theme of Cephallenia . This naval theme provided a defensive bulwark for Byzantium against western threats, but also played a major role in securing the sealanes to the Byzantine possessions in southern Italy . Indeed, traveller reports from throughout the middle Byzantine period (8th–12th centuries) make clear that Corfu

4655-446: The hearth, and from afar over the isle there was a fragrance of cleft cedar and juniper as they burned. But she within was singing with a sweet voice as she went to and fro before the loom , weaving with a golden shuttle. Round about the cave grew a luxuriant wood, alder and poplar and sweet-smelling cypress , wherein birds long of wing were wont to nest, owls and falcons and sea-crows with chattering tongues, who ply their business on

4750-521: The island Korkyra (Corfu) for a time, until the 8th century BCE. They reportedly were expelled from Korkyra by the Corinthians. At a date no doubt previous to the foundation of Syracuse , Corfu was peopled by settlers from Corinth , probably 730 BCE, but it appears to have previously received a stream of emigrants from Eretria . The commercially advantageous location of Corcyra on the way between Greece and Magna Grecia , and its fertile lowlands in

4845-513: The island formed part of the province of Epirus Vetus in the praetorian prefecture of Illyricum . In 551, during the Gothic War , the Ostrogoths raided the island and destroyed the city of Corfu, then known as Chersoupolis (Χερσούπολις, "city on the promontory") because of its location between Garitsa Bay and Kanoni. Over the next centuries, the main settlement was moved north, to the location of

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4940-534: The island in Argonautica as a place visited by the Argonauts. Jason and Medea were married there in 'Medea's Cave'. Apollonius named the island Drepane , Greek for "sickle", since it was thought to hide the sickle that Cronus used to castrate his father Uranus , from whose blood the Phaeacians were descended. In an alternative account, Apollonius identifies the buried sickle as a scythe belonging to Demeter , yet

5035-474: The island into three districts, of which the northern is mountainous, the central undulating, and the southern low-lying. The more important of the two ranges, that of Pantokrator (Παντοκράτωρ – the Almighty) stretches east and west from Cape Falacro to Cape Psaromita, and attains its greatest elevation in the summit of the same name. The second range culminates in the mountain of Santi Jeca, or Santa Decca, as it

5130-544: The island lies off the coast of Thesprotia , Greece. Its shape resembles a sickle ( drepanē, δρεπάνι ), to which it was compared by the ancients: the concave side, with the city and harbour of Corfu in the centre, lies toward the Albanian coast. With the island's area estimated at 592.9 km (228.9 sq mi; 146,500 acres), it runs approximately 64 km (40 mi) long, with greatest breadth at around 32 km (20 mi). Two high and well-defined ranges divide

5225-561: The island of Corfu , which is within 110 km (68 miles) of Ithaca. Thucydides , in his Peloponnesian War , identifies Scheria as Corfu or, with its ancient name, Corcyra. In I.25.4, he records the Corinthians' resentment of the Corcyraeans, who "could not repress a pride in the high naval position of an island whose nautical renown dated from the days of its old inhabitants, the Phaeacians." Locals on Corfu had long claimed this, based on

5320-560: The island of Gozo , the second largest island in the Maltese archipelago . Aeschylus calls the Nile Ogygian, and Eustathius the Byzantine grammarian said that Ogygia was the earliest name for Egypt, while other suggested locations for Ogygia include the Ionian Sea . Maps of historians and geographers like Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville , Philipp Clüver , Petrus Bertius and Aaron Arrowsmith refer to Ogygia as an island northwest of Corfu , Ionian Islands , Greece, which adds fuel to modern Greek tradition that Ogygia is, indeed,

5415-448: The island of the Phaeacians . The name Corfù is a Venetian and Italian version of the Byzantine Κορυφώ (Koryphō), meaning "city of the peaks". It derives from the Byzantine Greek Κορυφαί (Koryphai) (crests or peaks), denoting the two peaks of Palaio Frourio . The northeastern edge of Corfu lies off the coast of Sarandë , Albania , separated by straits varying in width from 3 to 23 km (2 to 14 miles). The southeast side of

5510-407: The island. It outlines the value of butterflies as indicators of the island's biodiversity status and encourages enthusiasts to record their sightings on this website, as participants of the survey. On the 16 December 2021, CBC became a UK registered community interest company (No.13813164) and so its identity changed from being a project to that of an organisation. The earliest reference to Corfu

5605-465: The island. The Ottomans tried to take the city castle and raided the surrounding area, but were repulsed. The Siege of Corfu (1537) was the first great siege by the Ottomans. It began on 29 August 1537, with 25,000 soldiers from the Ottoman fleet landing and pillaging the island and taking 20,000 hostages as slaves . Despite the destruction wrought on the countryside, the city castle held out in spite of repeated attempts over twelve days to take it, and

5700-418: The lagoons and streams of Corfu. The golden jackal was very common till the 1960s, but after persecution it became extinct, with the last individuals observed in the first half of the 1990s. Recent sightings indicate a recolonization effort from the nearby mainland. Wild boars were exterminated after 2000, after farmers complained about crop damage, but at the moment they recolonized Corfu, swimming from

5795-402: The leadership of Count von der Schulenburg who commanded the defence of the island, were victorious once more. The success was owed in no small part to the extensive fortifications, where Venetian castle engineering had proven itself once again against considerable odds. The repulse of the Ottomans was widely celebrated in Europe, Corfu being seen as a bastion of Western civilization against

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5890-628: The leprosarium again saw occasional use. During World War II , the Axis Occupation of Greece established a Nazi concentration camp there for the prisoners of the Greek Resistance movement , while remaining today are the two-storeyed building that served as the Headquarters of the Italian army, a small church, and the wall against which those condemned to death were shot. Corfu has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate ( Köppen climate classification : Csa ) featuring hot, dry summers and mild to cool, very rainy winters, which are much wetter than other Greek islands . The highest temperature ever recorded

5985-495: The location of Ogygia: First I will tell you the author of the piece, if there is no objection, who begins after Homer’s fashion with, an isle Ogygian lies far out at sea, distant five days’ sail from Britain, going westwards, and three others equally distant from it, and from each other, are more opposite to the summer visits of the sun; in one of which the barbarians fable that Cronus is imprisoned by Zeus, whilst his son lies by his side, as though keeping guard over those islands and

6080-589: The mainland. Red foxes , beech martens , least weasels , European hares , northern white-breasted hedgehogs are quite widespread, as some of the smaller mammals like the European edible dormouse , the hazel dormouse , the house mouse , the yellow-necked mouse , the western broad-toothed field mouse , the wood mouse , the lesser white-toothed shrew , the etruscan shrew , as well as several species of bats. Coypus , fallow deer , red deer , Indian crested porcupines , Siberian chipmunks and raccoons have been observed recently, but they are escapees and only

6175-399: The messenger Hermes to Ogygia to order Calypso to release Odysseus. Hermes is Odysseus's great grandfather on his mother's side, through Autolycos . Calypso finally, though reluctantly, instructed Odysseus to build a small raft, gave him food and wine, and let him depart the island. The Odyssey describes Ogygia as follows: ...and he (Hermes) found her within. A great fire was burning in

6270-506: The middle of the Atlantic Ocean . At another instance he [Polybius] suppresses statements. For Homer says also "Now after the ship had left the river-stream of Oceanus" and "In the island of Ogygia, where is the navel of the sea," where the daughter of Atlas lives; and again, regarding the Phaeacians, "Far apart we live in the wash of the waves, the farthermost of men, and no other mortals are conversant with us." All these [incidents] clearly suggest that he [Homer] composed them to take place in

6365-417: The most fortified places in Europe. The fortifications of the island were used by the Venetians to defend against Ottoman intrusion into the Adriatic . In November 1815 Corfu came under British rule following the Napoleonic Wars , and in 1864 was ceded to modern Greece by the British government along with the remaining islands of the United States of the Ionian Islands under the Treaty of London . Corfu

6460-414: The name Drepane probably originated in the sickle-shape of the island. According to a scholiast , commenting on the passage in Argonautica , the island was first of all called Macris after the nurse of Dionysus who fled there from Euboea . Some scholars have asserted that Corfu is Taphos , the island of the Lelegian Taphians. According to Strabo (VI, 269), the Liburnians were masters of

6555-591: The nobles: "[…] if I outlive this time of sorrow, I may be counted as your friend, though I live so far away from all of you" indicating that Scheria was far away from Ithaca. Many characteristics of the Phaeacians, including their seafaring and relaxed lifestyle are suggestive of Minoan Crete . Aside from the seafaring prowess, the palace walls that shone like the Sun are read to be covered not by bronze but orichalcum . The latter similarities make Scheria also suggestive of Plato 's account of Atlantis . Helena Blavatsky proposed in her Secret Doctrine (1888) that it

6650-450: The northwest of Corfu, (6 km away) and about 40 km (25 mi) from the Italian coast. The main islands are Othonoi , Ereikoussa and Mathraki . Lazaretto Island , formerly known as St. Dimitrios, is located 1.1 km (0.68 mi) off the coast northeast of the city Corfu . Lazaretto has an area of 7.1 ha (17.5 acres) and comes under the administration of the Greek National Tourist Organization. During Venetian rule in

6745-419: The oligarchic faction to effect a revolution; on each occasion the popular party ultimately won the day and took a most bloody revenge on its opponents (427 BCE and 425 BCE). During the Sicilian campaigns of Athens Corcyra served as a supply base; after a third abortive rising of the oligarchs in 410 BCE it practically withdrew from the war. In 375 BCE it again joined the Athenian alliance; two years later it

6840-421: The palace. Athena, knowing that the Phaeacians were hostile towards men from the outlands, cloaked Odysseus in a mist that hid him from the Phaeacians' gaze. Under Athena's protection, Odysseus passes through all of the protection systems of the palace and enters the chamber of King Alcinous . Odysseus throws his arms around the queen's legs and supplicates her. Naturally, Alcinous and his court are surprised to see

6935-454: The rock off the west coast of the island, which is supposedly the ship that carried Odysseus back to Ithaca, but was turned to stone by Poseidon , to punish the Phaeacians for helping his enemy, […] with one blow from the flat of his hand turned her [the ship] into stone and rooted her to the sea bottom. The Phaeacians did not participate in the Trojan War . The Greek name Φαίακες is derived from phaiós (φαιός “gray”). The Phaeacians in

7030-615: The same island as the island of Othonoi . Victor Bérard identified Perejil as the location of the mythical island of Ogygia. Approximately seven centuries after Homer , the Alexandrian geographer Strabo criticized Polybius on the geography of the Odyssey . Strabo proposed that Scheria and Ogygia were located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean . At another instance he Polybius suppresses statements. For Homer says also, 'Now after

7125-517: The sandy beaches. On land, the Hermann's tortoise is widespread, while the marginated tortoise 's status is unclear. In freshwater wetlands European pond terrapins and Balkan terrapins are common, but the last few years face the competition of the introduced pond slider . Lizard species include typical lizards and geckos like the starred agama , the Mediterranean house gecko , the moorish gecko ,

7220-478: The sea becomes clogged and full of earth, by which it has the appearance of being solid. The passage of Plutarch has created some controversy. W. Hamilton indicated the similarities of Plutarch's account on "the great continent" and Plato 's location of Atlantis in Timaeus 24E – 25A. Kepler in his Kepleri Astronomi Opera Omnia estimated that “the great continent” was America and attempted to locate Ogygia and

7315-453: The sea, which they call ‘the Sea of Cronus. The great continent by which the great sea is surrounded on all sides, they say, lies less distant from the others, but about five thousand stadia from Ogygia, for one sailing in a rowing-galley; for the sea is difficult of passage and muddy through the great number of currents, and these currents issue out of the great land, and shoals are formed by them, and

7410-479: The sea. And right there about the hollow cave ran trailing a garden vine, in pride of its prime, richly laden with clusters. And fountains four in a row were flowing with bright water hard by one another, turned one this way, one that. And round about soft meadows of violets and parsley were blooming... A long-standing tradition begun by Euhemerus in the late 4th century BC and supported by Callimachus , endorsed by modern Maltese tradition, identifies Ogygia with

7505-465: The second half of the 20th century the Veneto da mar was spoken in Corfu. During this time, the local Greek language assimilated a large number of Italian and Venetian words, many of which are still common today. The internationally renowned Venetian-born British photographer Felice Beato (1832–1909) is thought to have spent much of his childhood in Corfu. Also many Italian Jews took refuge in Corfu during

7600-477: The ship had left the river-stream of Oceanus', and, 'In the island of Ogygia, where is the navel of the sea', where the daughter of Atlas lives; and again, regarding the Phaiakians, 'Far apart we live in the wash of the waves, the farthermost of men, and no other mortals are conversant with us.' All these clearly suggest that he composed them to take place in the Atlantic Ocean." Plutarch also gives an account of

7695-485: The southern section of the island favoured its growth and, influenced perhaps by the presence of non-Corinthian settlers, its people, quite contrary to the usual practice of Corinthian colonies, maintained an independent and even hostile attitude towards the mother city. This opposition came to a head in the early part of the 7th century BCE, when their fleets fought the first naval battle recorded in Greek history: 665 BCE according to Thucydides . These hostilities ended in

7790-422: The space of a century Corfu was the first target and served as a staging area for the Norman invasions of Byzantium . The first Norman occupation from 1081 to 1084 was ended only after the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos secured the aid of the Republic of Venice , in exchange to wide-ranging commercial concessions to Venetian merchants. The admiral George of Antioch captured Corfu again in 1147, and it took

7885-540: The strength of some old Byzantine castles in Angelokastro , Kassiopi Castle , Gardiki and elsewhere, were additional factors that enabled Corfu to remain free. Will Durant claimed that Corfu owed to the Republic of Venice the fact that it was one of the few parts of Greece never conquered by the Ottomans. A series of attempts by the Ottomans to take the island began in 1431 when Ottoman troops under Ali Bey landed on

7980-489: The surrounding islands. Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithbheartaigh used Ogygia as a synonym for Ireland in the title of his Irish history, Ogygia: Seu Rerum Hibernicarum Chronologia ("Ogygia: Or a Chronological Account of Irish Events"), 1685. Wilhelm von Christ was convinced that the continent was America and states that in the 1st-century sailors traveling through Iceland , Greenland , and the Baffin Region (Qikiqtaaluk) reached

8075-547: The time of writing) who share their passion for the butterflies and moths found on the island. It is through this work that more is being discovered about the distribution and abundance of butterflies across the island. Corfu Butterfly Conservation (CBC) was launched in April 2019. The group is composed of concerned residents, island visitors and scientists from throughout Europe. Their goals are to produce robust scientific data that can be used to influence policy and protect habitat for

8170-411: The time. In another account of Ogyges, he brought his people to the area first known as Acte . That land was subsequently called Ogygia in his honor but ultimately known as Attica . Ogygia is used by Roderick O'Flaherty as an allegory for Ireland in his book published in 1685 as Ogygia: seu Rerum Hibernicarum Chronologia & etc., in 1793 translated into English by Rev. James Hely, as "Ogygia, or

8265-484: The waves, he is finally washed up on Scheria. Meanwhile, the goddess Athena sneaks into the palace, disguised as a sea-captain's daughter, and instructs princess Nausicaa (the daughter of King Alcinous ) in her sleep to go to the seashore and wash her clothes. The next morning, Nausicaa and her maids go to the seashore, and after washing the clothes, start to play a game on the beach, with laughs, giggles and shouts. Odysseus, sleeping nearby exhausted from his adventure,

8360-525: The way from the southern tip of the island at Lefkimi to Ipsos in Corfu's eastern midsection. These areas were thoroughly pillaged as in past encounters. Nevertheless the city castle stood firm again, a testament to Corfiot-Venetian steadfastness as well as the Venetian castle-building engineering skills. Another castle, Angelokastro , situated on the northwest coast near Palaiokastritsa (Greek: Παλαιοκαστρίτσα meaning Old Castle place ) and located on particularly steep and rocky terrain, also held out. The castle

8455-437: Was Homer before Plato who first wrote of Atlantis. From the ancient times, some scholars having examined the work and the geography of Homer have suggested that Scheria was located in the Atlantic Ocean . Among them were Strabo and Plutarch . Approximately eight centuries after Homer , the geographer Strabo criticized Polybius on the geography of the Odyssey . Strabo proposed that Scheria and Ogygia were located in

8550-500: Was "an important staging post for travels between East and West". Indeed, the medieval name of Corfu first appears (Latinized Coryphus ) in Liutprand of Cremona 's account of his 968 embassy to the Byzantine court. Corfu enjoyed relative peace and safety during the Macedonian dynasty (867–1054), which allowed the construction of a monumental church to Saints Iason and Sosipatrus outside the city wall of Palaiopolis. Nevertheless, in 933,

8645-469: Was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List , following a recommendation by ICOMOS . The 1994 European Union summit was held in Corfu. The island is a popular tourist destination. The Greek name, Kerkyra or Korkyra , is related to two powerful water deities: Poseidon , god of the sea, and Asopos , an important Greek mainland river. According to myth, Poseidon fell in love with

8740-464: Was again involved in a quarrel with Corinth over the control of Epidamnus , and sought assistance from Athens (see Battle of Sybota ). This new alliance was one of the chief immediate causes of the Peloponnesian War , in which Corcyra was of considerable use to the Athenians as a naval station, but did not render much assistance with its fleet. The island was nearly lost to Athens by two attempts of

8835-525: Was attacked and conquered by Agathocles of Syracuse . He offered Corfu as dowry to his daughter Lanassa on her marriage to Pyrrhus , King of Epirus . The island then became a member of the Epirotic alliance. It was then perhaps that the settlement of Cassiope was founded to serve as a base for the King of Epirus' expeditions. The island remained in the Epirotic alliance until 255 BCE when it became independent after

8930-511: Was besieged by a Spartan force, but in spite of the devastation of its flourishing countryside held out successfully until relieved. In the Hellenistic period Corcyra was exposed to attack from several sides. In 303 BCE, after a vain siege by Cassander , the island was occupied for a short time by the Lacedaemonian general Cleonymus of Sparta , then regained its independence and later it

9025-545: Was one of the three great naval powers of fifth century BCE Greece, along with Athens and Corinth . Ruins of ancient Greek temples and other archaeological sites of the ancient city of Korkyra are located in Palaiopolis . Medieval castles punctuating strategic locations across the island are a legacy of struggles in the Middle Ages against invasions by pirates and the Ottomans . Two of these castles enclose its capital, which

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